One in four companies in England and Wales is owned by an offshore company

One in four properties in England and Wales are owned by companies listed in tax heavens, a BBC report found on Tuesday.

Offshore entities own 97,000 properties in the UK. Almost half of these properties are located in London, especially in the City, Kensington, and Chelsea. The real estate assets vary from residential housing to hotel and business premises.

That means their owners can avoid inheritance tax and anonymity.

The majority of the property is owned by offshore companies listed in the British Virgin Islands, followed by Hong Kong, Panama, and Ireland. The British Virgin Islands reject the label “tax haven,” suggesting instead that the island complex makes it simpler to have multiple real estate assets in several countries.

There UK government has now taken steps to introduce inheritance tax even for offshore holdings, but anonymity remains an advantage.